Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi, on Friday (September 22), discussed the Myanmar issue with President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Mirjana Spoljaric in New York, the United States.Both figures discussed the issue during a meeting held on the sidelines of the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly. During the meeting, Minister Marsudi told the ICRC leader that the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) would continue to promote the so-called Five-Point Consensus (5PC) as the main reference for resolving the ongoing crises induced by the coup executed by the Burmese military junta. Marsudi told Spoljaric that Indonesia, as the 2023 chair of ASEAN, has taken various concrete actions to deal with the Myanmar issue, including by distributing humanitarian aid to the country. Marsudi then underscored Indonesia's commitment to continuously assisting the people of Myanmar, even after its ASEAN chairmanship term concludes, through the troika mechanism agreed upon at the 43rd ASEAN Summit. Laos, as the next chair of ASEAN, will initiate the implementation of the troika mechanism and will be assisted by Indonesia, the preceding chair, and Malaysia, the succeeding chair, to ensure the sustainability of the implementation of the 5PC to resolve the Myanmar issue. Meanwhile, Spoljaric, for her part, extended her appreciation to Indonesia for its persistent support for the ICRC. She also expressed hope that Indonesia and ICRC would be able to further solidify their relations through cooperation and dialogue. Spoljaric is a Swiss diplomat, who became the first woman to ever lead the international organization. She officially came into office in October last year. Myanmar has been plunged into political and economic crises since its military junta mounted a coup against the elected government on February 1, 2021.
Source: Antara News Agency